An unofficial exploration of Fort Collins History

The accident, 1955

16-year-old Norm’s first car wreck, in 1955, takes a shocking turn when his Mom takes him to the police station to report the fender bender.I’m still moving away, but I thought you might like this video from last summer. This is one of my favorite of all of Norm’s many, many stories.

…and no doubt Fire Chief Cliff Carpenter was involved in fighting the fire. Chief Carpenter (a Clark Gable lookalike) was also the piano player in my dad’s dance band, the Ray Froid Orchestra. Sadly, he was killed while fighting a fire in downtown Fort Collins.

Yeah, Norm and I went to a dedication ceremony for Carpenter last summer at Grandview cemetery. Norm says as the State Dry Goods was burning in 1965, KCOL reported live from across the street. The reporter watched as an outer wall fell to the ground (I believe this is where the bank on the north side of the Oak Street Plaza now stands). He said, “That’s just where Chief Carpenter was standing a moment ago…I hope he got out of there.” But he didn’t.

I recall they said he was the only firefighter ever killed on duty in Fort Collins.

At the ceremony last summer, they dedicated a plaque at the base of the firefighter monument, and Carpenter’s family was there. They talked about all the different places he would play piano. I recall Lamb’s diner across from the Northern. I forget where else they said.

I must have been 12 years old when we went downtown to watch the State Dry Goods fire and saw the wall come down killing Chief Carpenter. Doubt I’ll ever forget it.

Ray Froid was my 7th grade math teacher at Lincoln Junior High….Anytime someone would claim to have lost their pencil you could be certain he would reply, most sarcastically, “All right, who has it? COUGH IT UP!”

He had us grade our own papers on the honor system and the next thing I knew, I had been bumped up to a advanced class….OOPS!

I remember chief kelly he was a really down to earth kind of guy in fact one day when my dads car was in the garage getting some work done he pulled up in front of the house and gave him a ride to the court house he even let me sit in the patrol car. So cool, I was about 6 or so.

The big fire is a memory that I will never forget my dad got a call from a friend and we went down to watch we were standing near the elks lodge watching and it was really scary. The Mcdonalds dry goods had a fire wall that kept the fire from going any further and as I remember I didnt liked that store anymore because ( I was 10) it killed chief carpenter. Really sad because his son went to the same elementary school as I did.

Oh the memories of stinkin lincoln but lesher is fresher. I had mr. blevins as a math teacher in 7th grade and got bumped up to ms. deal the eighth grade teacher for algebra-still dont get it, algebra that is.

Steve you must remeber Mr. cheney science and of course who could live a 7th graders life at lincoln without coach kinard YOU CAN AND YOU WILL the fear of the old paddle on the butt made you climb that rope. He claimed he had 2 swings the eight ball and the I forgot my gym clothes swing LOL

Hello Captainbevo;
Mr Cheney was my homeroom teacher and I still remember it was room 108….sorry you had to go to Lesher, Lincoln Junior High had so much more character and charm.

I’ll wager that everyone who had Mr. Kinard remembers ‘You Can and You Will’. He was one tough guy and no nonsense allowed. Of course many of us were working on our Beatle inspired hair-dos at the time and he was not a fan of the trend. I had a great deal of respect for him actually. Once when I was in my freshman year at Poudre High I ran into him at (the long departed) MR. TACO and he wanted to know how it was going and told me if I ever had trouble with the element that hated hippies to let him know. I’m sure he meant it.

When I was in town a few years back, I apparently looked him in the eye when he was in the yard of a neighbor but I wasn’t made aware of it until later. I wish I had known. I would have loved to shake his hand (and ask him how he likes my ponytail).

It’s cool seeing the Lincoln comments. Mr. Kinard was a fantastic teacher. He did some really cool stuff when he left Lincoln. I went to the dedication of Kindard Junior High and, while there was a big crowd around him, was able to say hello. “You need to have a bag with your name on it!” (for your gym clothes)

Mr. Cheney – I definitely remember. Mr. Rich. I had Ms. Deal for Geometry. Great times………….

You must remember Mr. Shull he is a wonderful man. I recall my brother was at poudre and I at Lincoln and he would put the trumpet that he and I shared in his truck when he came from teaching at poudre to go to lincoln for band class.
One day we had instrument inspection and he looked at the trumpet and said I wouldnt even make a lamp out of that. Now if you recall he made a lamp out of a trombone. Oh well.
I think the best teacher I had was Mr. Hagemister. On my first day he made fun of me because he knew my dad.
He would tell us stories about when he was a policeman in the fort, and make the class fun.
He once told a story about a robbery at deans sporting goods and it had just snowed and they followed the footprints right to where the perp was-hello is there anybody in there?
And who could forget about Mr. Baltazor metal shop I had him for home room he warned us about going to the auditorium for an all school event and if they dimmed the lights he would go to sleep however he also warned us if we acted up while he was snoozing that the coach was in charge-very funny now-not then.

Remember the candy counter run by the student council after lunch period WOW would the parents in todays world allow such a thing NOT but then again Coach Kindard would run that out of them.

As a side note Steve you need to look at fort collins history and look up poudre high school I believe that your picture is on there for the 1969 football champiionship welcome home after winning the state title. Not that you were on the team but welcoming them home with the pep band.

Captainbevo
That trumpet is in my closet still in the ratty case and valves still stick occasionally but it does work !

The most significant things I remember about Lincoln was Mr Williams who taught English and had the largest paddle in the school and you knew that on your birthday you were going to get the paddle so you prepped yourself for the worst and it usually came very close to that — and that the choir and art rooms were on the top floor by themselves kind of a climb espeically right after lunch — and how when I was going through basic training for the Air Force I remembered that I made it through Hal Kinards gym classes so I could make it through anything that basic wanted to throw at me!